Cartoon Heroes
by Black-Winged Magician
Summary: A series of OC drabbles written for Olynthus, WhiteLadyDragon, and The Full Neko Alchemist. Johan/OC, Zane/OC.
1. Olynthus: Promise

**Promise**

* * *

_Johan, I always looked up to you. I remember the first time I saw you in person…the first time I entered North School._

"…I didn't know…I'm sorry. I can't return your feelings…because if I told you I loved you…it'd be a lie."

_I immediately recognized you from the European tournament you won…I remember watching in awe as the legendary Gem Beasts cards began to glow brightly during your duel…they chose you as their respected master…_

"And, and, it's better to know the truth no matter how much reality hurts—not to berate you or anything! I mean, I respect that you had the courage to tell me…but…"

_…you're such an inspiration to me…with your bright smile and optimism…and all this determination, bright and bold, how can someone like me possibly be good enough for you? _

"I can't give you something I don't have..."

_I'm so ordinary. You're so...extraordinary. _

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Man, this is so awkward…" He frowned, lowering his eyes to the grass. "I'm sorry again."

Elisabeth shook her head, prompting strands of blonde hair to fly all over the place. "No, you're right."

Johan gave her a sad, crooked smile. He lifted his arms and shrugged helplessly, joints all loose and rickety-like. They were both lost on what to do in a situation like this.

"Will you…come with me?" the British girl asked, hardly bothering to conceal her surprise since it's been eons since she'd been able to look at him without blushing anyhow.

"Eh?"

"Come with me. Just for a short while. I want to show you something." She extended her hand.

Hesitance was scribbled all over his face. "Alright. Where do you want to go?"

She told him where she wanted to go. Then she secured her fingers around his wrist and broke out into a full-throttled sprint towards the destination. He yelped, and then scuttled awkwardly behind her, ordering me to 'be careful!' somewhere along the way—she, of course, ignored him. She ran out of the forest and back into civilization—Johan looked at the Obelisk boy dorms we rush pass by—she dragged him up a hill—Johan looked at the moon shining perfectly angled beams of light down on them—she dragged him across the dirt road—Johan looked at the sea turmoil—she dragged him by the pier—Johan looked at the lighthouse—and finally, finally they arrived at the main gates of the school.

"Here?"

She didn't reply. The double doors slide open automatically before us and she ran in with Johan's wrist still held hostage. She pondered whether to use the elevator but then opt for the stairs seeing as she didn't want to break the momentum of this energy rush—she made a beeline for the nearest flight of stairs—she felt the blood pounding in her ears—one foot after the other—flight after flight—her thighs burned—and she thought, she thought Johan was nearly out of breath—

_—we're almost there—_

When she burst through the doors, a gust of cold air nearly knocked her off her feet. Elisabeth stopped. Johan stopped. For five minutes, all that could be heard apart from the blustering winds was the huffing and puffing as the two caught their breath.

The view was gorgeous.

"Hmm," he said.

Elisabeth giggled to herself. She almost expected him to utter something really clichéd like, "Oh wow" or "It's beautiful". Thank god he didn't, because she might have just pushed him off if he did.

"You want to know why I duel, Johan-kun?" she suddenly shouted over the winds, turning to face him, her bright blue eyes sparkling in the night. "It's because I don't have anything else! I'm so ordinary! I didn't come from anywhere special—and I surely don't think I'm going to be famous in the future—so dueling is all I have—and I'm not even that good at it! But I'll try really hard so that I can be a great duelist one day, maybe as good as you are! Then I'll challenge you to a duel!"

Johan looked at her, and then laughed airily. "I'm sure you can do it! And when that time comes, I'll be looking forward to our duel!"

She smiled. "Promise you'll still be there when I reach you?" She stuck out her hand.

He grasped it and squeezed it tightly. "I'll meet you at the top!"

It was a promise.


	2. WhiteLadyDragon: Smile

**Smile **

**

* * *

**

My name is Sara Scinner. I'm five feet, five inches and about 130 pounds. Maybe I weight a little more, I dunno. I've gone to a lot of parties in the recent, and probably gained some flab around my tummy from drinking all those pina coladas. (Virgin ones, mind you, 'cause I don't drink, no siree, I'm a _good girl_.)

I'm a rather…random person. Crazy? Nah. Random and crazy aren't always interchangeable, y'know. When I say random, I mean that, well, I don't expect there to be any unhappy people fifty meters away from the spot where I'm standing. They say misery loves company, but I say that's some screwed up company you've got there. I want people to be happy. I want them to laugh.

If Jaden has "Get your game on!", Chazz has his retarded "Chazz it up!", and Aster has "You can't hide from destiny", then my catch phrase is definitely "Laughter can help prevent cancer!"

(…it _can too_.)

I've met a lot of miserable people on my road to dueling comedian stardom—Chazz and his big brother issues, Syrus and his self-confidence issues, Aster and his revenge issues—but I will tell you that they don't hold a candle next to this one guy: _Zane Truesdale_.

I mean, wow is that guy Depressed with a capital D. Getting your ass whupped by some kid in nappies would do a number on anyone, but, uh, going completely dark is kinda crossing the boundary. I feel like it's my job to cheer him up. So I baked him something. What you ask? You'll see what.

Zane is not exactly an easy buddy to look for. I mean, he's sure as hell effortless to spot with the naked eye with all that black industrial epoxy-soaked leather, but seeing as the island is so large, I seem to keep missing the guy by an eighth of meter. I ask people too, y'know, whether they've seen him or not, but am only rewarded by chary looks and long, incoherent strings of '_umms_' and '_errs_'. Big help they were. (Sarcasm.)

Still. I'm a persistent gal, and I search the whole island before finally finding the fruitloop taking a break from torturing duelists and relaxing in the outskirts of the Ra Yellow dorms.

"Uh…Zane?"

He looks up at me. Hurray for indifference! I wait for him to say something in acknowledgment. A curt 'what'. A nod. Even a monosyllabic grunt is good enough for me.

After a few seconds and no response, I realize Zane Truesdale is not one for wasted movements. He knows I'm here. I know he's here. I already greeted him, plus he's acknowledged my existence with his eyes as I am standing in plain view sight of the guy.

I tot up to him with my gift (_package_, not a gift, just a package, yes, package) bouncing on the palms of my hands.

"…Professor Satyr had kitchen scraps left over from making curry, so me and my friends made some fun food. Uh…we have some extra left, and Silpheed doesn't like strawberries and I'm on a diet," I stop myself before I accidentally say, _'So I decided maybe you'll like them'_ because that's a terribly obvious excuse and my pride won't let me live it down if I utter such nonsensical words.

He closes his eyes and turns away. "Leave me alone, girl," he says coldly.

The _nerve_ of him!

"Look, Captain Sunshine!" I shout back, stamping my foot. "I can't stand to see you in so much pain. I mean, _really_. Aster's dad may be dead but you're the emo kid of the Pro-leagues! Quit being all moping and sad and go do something with your life!"

He has an expression that just screams 'What is the meaning of this?!' with added foul language and nasty insults in the subtext. Sheesh-la-freaking-weez.

I pause. He continues to stare at me with a slightly slacken jaw. I give him a pout and set the gif—_package_ on a rock next to him. Then I set my hands on my hips and scowl.

"I expect you to eat it—not _step on it_ or—or—whatever! It'll make you happier!" I demand. Another pause. My anger turns into sheepishness as I rub the back of my head. "...oh, and Silpheed is my cockatoo if you were confused," I mutter with a sweatdrop rolling down.

Then I tot away, disappearing into the bushes without so much as a goodbye.

(...the quality of my futility has reached new depths.)

After a few minutes of mentally reprimanding myself for acting like a total_ retard_, I spy on Zane to see if he actually listened to me or not. I watch him inspect the package before unwrapping it and seeing the plump white Strawberry Daifuku in all its powdery glory. Then he takes one, takes a bite out of it thoughtfully, and then notes the bean paste-coated strawberry with a slightly raised eyebrow. He looks at the direction of which I left.

"Hmph," he gives his famous monosyllabic grunt and finishes the rest of the cake before starting another one.

From behind the bushes, I smile.


	3. Full Neko Alchemist: Jealousy

**Jealousy**

* * *

Ayukawa sighed. She…_liked_ Mitsuki and respected him…sort of. But sometimes, he annoyed the holy hell out of her.

"I'm sorry to hear that you missed your wedding because of Yubel's interference, but will you close your mouth long enough for me to get an accurate reading of your temperature?"

"If you really feel sorry for me, you can honor my request for a dinner date."

"I'd love to…but I can't. There are children still recovering from the aftershocks of the Dis-Belts and I need to be there for them. _Mouth closed_. You'll draw flies. And I won't know if you're sick or not."

"Aren't nurses supposed to care for their patients who trekked through the arctic wasteland and then dueled a polar bear to fasten a teaching position at North School, all because he was fired by some heartless bastard who was offended by a broken man's attitude because he missed his wedding day due to a hermaphrodite's Taoist vengeance?"

_What is it with this man and making absurd remarks when he's angry?_ "You'll be fine without me. You're a grown man, Mitsuki-san."

"A grown man without a wife or love life!" he exclaimed. "C'mon, Emi-chan! Why not just one date? One measly date?"

"You seem to have no temperature. You can leave whenever you're ready."

"I have a headache," he complained.

"You can take these pills."

"Goody."

"Suppository pills."

"…double goody. Are you denying my heart because you have a fling for Tenjoin Fubuki?"

Emi's reaction was expected: her calm previously composure shattered as her face turned a deep shade of red. "Wha—that's_ ridiculous_! He's a student!" she sputtered rather unconvincingly in Mitsuki's opinion.

Mitsuki poked a finger in the direction over her shoulder. "…he's in front waiting for you," he deadpanned.

In complete contradiction to her former denial, Emi immediately abandoned her current patient rushed over to the wounded Fubuki. Outwardly, Mitsuki kept an indifferent pretense. Inwardly, he was cursing the surfer to the fat friar in hell.

"Oh dear! What happened? Are you alright?" he heard her cry with a tone of worry in her voice that wasn't present before.

There was a groan from the surfer. Moments later, she ushered Fubuki into a cot adjacent to the one Mitsuki was sitting on.

"Just rest here, Fubuki-kun. I'll be back soon."

She left, so now that Fubuki and Mitsuki were alone. He glanced over at the surfer and felt a distinct feeling of dislike towards him. He quickly looked away. Hopefully, if he avoided eye contact, Fubuki wouldn't initiate meaningless conversation.

Fubuki ogled at him with squinty eyes before waggling a finger in his direction. "Hey, aren't you…Mitsuki? You're that gardener who always screamed at kids to get off the lawn…" Fubuki looked him up and down, which was mad unfair. "What's with the new getup? Going skiing?"

Mitsuki found a frown breaking his indifferent countenance. For someone who was dubbed 'sensitive' by the majority of the female population, he wasn't very perceptive of the things in front of him. "Hmph. I'm no longer a teacher at Duel Academia. I work for North School now."

"No kidding…" Fubuki scratched his head. "How come I never knew of this?"

Mitsuki looked away. _Because I'm as elusive as Kabayama to you juveniles_, he thought. He changed the subject. "What happened with you?"

"I dueled Juudai under the pretense of Darkness again...he wiped the floor with me..."

"Big surprise."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fubuki questioned, vaguely offended.

"Juudai beats everyone. Island hero. He may not have the grades or the motivation of a hero, but he's done more for this island than anyone else has."

"…point taken." He sighed. "But y'know. I can't help but feel like I'm a failure."

At his sudden change in personality, Mitsuki raised an eyebrow. The lightheartedness was rapidly leaking out of the atmosphere.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like the past three years has been a complete waste. The chicks, the publicity, the pina coladas, flower leis, and spending nights strumming my ukulele on the beach—it's been a blast being scotch free from big bads and the gloom-and-doom motif, but when it comes to it, when was the last time I actually did something_ useful_?"

Fubuki made some frustrated gestures with anger directed towards no one.

"Maybe your time in this school has passed," Mitsuki replied. _Like mine..._

"Passed, huh? Passed already? You mean that's it? We get to be top dog for one year and let a bunch of kids in nappies take over? Heroes get younger every year—look at Rei! She can whup half of the Obelisk Blues in the school and she's only _thirteen_." Fubuki covered his face with his hand. "My generation… Me, Ryou, Fujiwara—we were the best of our class—what the heck happened to the three of us? Fujiwara vanishes off the face of the planet, Ryou gets royally thrashed by some _kid_ in his first shot in the pro leagues, and I get my ass whupped by my baby sister in a public school duel!"

"There's no point in arguing the reality. You're being selfish."

Fubuki rounded towards Mitsuki with a hard look. "My selfishness is your selfishness. Don't tell me you haven't felt jealousy towards those kids. Towards Juudai."

Mitsuki clutched his heart. Inwardly, he knew Fubuki was right.


End file.
